Gap reached a deal early this year to more than triple the number of item-picking robots it uses to 106 by the fall. Then the pandemic struck North America, forcing the company to close all its stores in the region, including those of Banana Republic, Old Navy and other brands. Meanwhile, its warehouses faced more web orders and fewer staff to fulfill them because of social distancing rules Gap had put in place.
Each machine handles work typically performed by four people, Kuntz said. Neither the deal to triple the number of robots, nor the expedited installations, have been previously reported. Vince Martinelli, RightHand’s head of product and marketing, declined comment on the deployment but said as a general matter, “If you’re going to have limited people in the building, the last thing you want them to do is a simple task that can be automated.”
The Kindred SORT system uses artificial intelligence and Autograsp technology for its suction and gripper controls, seen here at Kindred's facility in San Francisco, California, U.S., May 13, 2020. Gap Inc has accelerated its orders and implementation of the Kindred SORT system in its warehouses across the U.S. so it can limit human contact during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gap last month said it faced a cash shortage, prompting it to borrow $2.25 billion. Three-quarters of its revenue its last fiscal year came from over 3,300 physical stores, most of which it has closed for weeks.
(three weeks later....) Gap rushes in even more robots to warehouses to solve human disruption
williamlegate You aren't getting your jobs back. ubiforward
And they will never move out
A two metre Gap, I presume?